Coin separator and counter



c. c. VOGLESONG.

com SEPARATOR AND comma. APPUCATION FILED SEPT. 26, 1915- 1,356,947. I Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

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C. C. VOGLESUNG.

COIN SEPARATOR AND COUNTER.

APPLICATION FILED sums. 191s.

1,356,947, Patented Oct. 26, 1920..

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C. C, VOGLESONG. COIN SEPARATGR AND COUNTER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.26. 1916.

IN VEN TOR. m CL m: c. VOGL50N6 A TTORNE VS.

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Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

. WITNESSES: ra

C. C. VOGLESONG.

COIN SEPARATOR AND COUNTER.

APPLICATION men SEPT. 26. 1916.

1,356,947, Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

IN VENTOR.

CLYDE c. VOGLE so/ve HIS A TTORNEYS.

:PATENT' OFFICE.

CLYDE C. VOGLESONG, F OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

COIN SEPARATOR AND COUNTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

Application filed September 26, 1916. Serial No. 122,221.

T 0 all 10 7mm it may concern Be it known that I, CLYDE C. VoGLEsoNo, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Oakland, county of Alameda, and

State of California, have invented a certain new and useful Coin Separator and Counter, of which the following is a speci- The invention relates to machines for re- 10 ceiving, segregating and counting coins of various denominations.

An object of the invention is to provide a coin separating and counting machine having the capacity of segregating and counting coins of various sizes quickly and accurately.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for registering on-one counter, the total value of all coins passing through the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for operating the segregating means whichis automatically thrown into operation by the introduction of coins into the segregating means.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for directing spurious or mutilated coins or other articles which are deposited in the machine from the segregating means.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for preventing the apparatus from being operated at an excessive speed.

The invention comprises other advan- 'eons features, some of which, with the toregoing. will be set forth at length in the ipllowing description, Where I shall outline in full that form of the invention w h .l have selected for illustration in the draw ngs accompanying and forming part of the present specification. In the drawings I have shown only one specific form of my generic invention, but it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to such form because my invention may be embodied in a multiplicity of forms, each in said drawings: Figure 1 1s a side elevation of the appa- Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a portion of the apparatus, taken on the line 3-3,

Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the coin segregating means showing one coin counting unit.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the coin segregating means.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are sections of the coin wheels for receiving the coins of different denominations, showing the relative angular positions of the wheels.

Pg. 9 is a detail of a centrifugally acting lock.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is particularly adapted to be used by theaters, ferry and suburban railway systems and other places where admission or fares may be paid by persons on entering the building, terminal. or vehicle as the case may be. In such use, the coins which are tendered in payment usually vary from cent .iieces to quarter dollars and I have constructed the present machine to accommodate cents, nickels, dimes and quarters. although the range of coin values or the number of coin values to be accommodated may be varied as desired to meet different conditions. Cent pieces are not frequently tendered as fare or admission, and I have provided means for separating these coins from the others and depositing them in a separate receptacle, but on account of their infrequent use I have not believed it advisable to provide means for counting them. The present machine, therefore, operates to segregate coins of four different denominations and to count and register the values of the coins of three of these denominations.

The present machine is of the pedestal type, being arranged on a suitable case or cabinet 2 in which drawers 34 for containing the money received are arranged, the drawers being provided with suitable combination. locks 5, so that they may be opened only by authorized persons. In the bottom of the case is arranged an electric motor 6 for driving the segregating and counting mechanism. The case is provided *ith suitable rollers 7, so that the machine may be readily moved over the floor and with adjustable supports 8 which may be lowered to raise the rollers from the floor when the machine is to remain in one place.

The coins are placed in the hopper 12, which is provided with apertures 13 of only sulhcient size to allow the largest coin which may be segregated by the device to pass through. From the hopper the coins fall onto the inspection table 14: which forms the bottom of the glass-walled inspection chamber 15. 'Arranged below the hopper 12 and preferably supported thereby is a conical shield 16 which prevents the insertion of an instrument into the inspection chamber through the hopper for the purpose of removing coins therefrom. The shield 16 also acts as a protection for the incandescent lamp 1'? which illuminates the inspection table.

The inspection table is secured to the diametrically disposed rocker shaft 18 which is rocked by the handle 19 to tilt the table to cause the coins to discharge therefrom. The table is normally held in a horizontal posi tion by the weight 21 attached thereto and the stop-pin 22 both arranged on the same side of the center line of the table. Movement of the handle toward the left (Fig. 8) causes the table to tilt and slide the coins thereon into the segregatingcup 23. Means are provided for preventing spurious or mutilated coins or other foreign articles which are dropped into the machine from being fed to the segregating cup. The stoppin 22 is yieldingly held in position in contact with the table 14 and may be withdrawn to permit the table to tilt to the right, Fig. 3. Arranged below the right side of the table is a locked compartment or c rawer 2% into which the undesirable articles tall and from which they can be removed only by operating the lock. The operator is thereby able to divert any extraneous objects from the segregating mechanism and these objects are retained in the machine and are not accessible.

Means are provided for preventing the accumulation of a large number of coins in the segregating cup 23 and theconsequent congestion and liability of error therein. The segregating mechanism is driven by an electric motor and means are provided for closin the motor circuit when the inspection table 14 is tilted to eischarge the coins thereon into the segregating cup. l'hrranged adjacent the handle 19 is a button 25 which when depressed closes switch in the motor circuit and the handle is provided with a :am 26 which engages and depresses the hutton when the handle is moved to tilt the table to slide the coins into the cup. A second button 27 connected to button in a known manner, is raised when button 25 is depressed and after the table has returned to the horizontal position, the button 2? may be depressed to raise button 25 so that the circuit is opened and the motor stopper. When colns are being continuously dropped into the hopper, the motor may be kept running continuously.

The segregating mechanism comprises an inclined rotatable cup 23 consisting of the bottom plate 32 and the side wall 33 which are secured together. The bottom plate is provided adjacent its periphery with a plurality of circular apertures 34-, equal in diameter to the largest coins to be segregated in which the coins lodge and in which they are carried to the different coin chutes as the cup rotates. The side wall 38 is provided with a bevel gear which meshes with the driving gear 36. Arranged below the rotatable bottom 32 and in contact therewith is a station ary plate 37 which is provided adjacent its periphery with various-sized segregating apertures l1-42-d34ll through which the coins tall, the successive apertures increasin size in the direction of rotation of the cup. In the present machine segregating aperture 4C1 receives the dimes, aperture 42 the cent pieces, aperture 13 the nickels and aperture 44 the quarters. The bottom plate '32 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction (Fig. so that the coins arrive at the proper aperture before falling from the apertures in the bottom plate. The apertures ll4-2l34l4; are preferably straight on the side which the coins approach and the coins tilt over the straight edge and fall into the chutes arranged immediately below the segregating apertures. A stationary spring-pressed shoe 1-5 is arranged in the rotating cup and overlies a portion of the periphery of the bottom plate and prevents more than one coin from being carried in an aperture in the bottom plate at one line Secured to the stationary plate 37 and registering with the respective segregating apertures therein are a plurality of coin chutes l6 l7 l8-4l9. The chute 47 is arranged below aperture l2 and conducts the cent pieces to a compartment 51. This compartment is provided with a locked sliding 9' to 52 attached to the rod 53 so that the ge may be opened by moving the rod. When the gate is opened the cent pieces fall into the chamber 54': in d 'awer 3. The coin chutes 16, 48 and 49 receive the dimes, nichels and quarters respectively from their respective segregating apertures and are so shaped. that in passing therethrough, the coins are turned so that they move edgewise and are discharged edgewise from the chute in ranged below the discharge ends of the coin chutes 4:6,48 and L9 and adapted to receive the coinsedgewise ther from. respectively, are coin wheels and secured to tie driven shaft 58 arranged. substantially parallel to the ends of the coin chutes. The shaft 58 is driven by means of a 59 secured thereto, which meshes with cylindrical gear extension. oi bevel gear Bevel gear 36 is splined on shaft 61 which is nected to the main motor driven shaft 62 by the bevel gears 63 and 64. The bevel gear 36 is pressed by spring 36 into engagement with the bevel gear 35 on the segregating cup and should for any reason the segregating cup become jammed, the bevel gear 36 will be pushed out of engagement with the bevel gear 35, thereby preventing breaking or injuring the apparatus or stalling the motor.

Each coin wheel comprises a hub 65 and side plates 66, the diameters of the hubs varying in an inverse ratio to the diameter of the coins. Arranged between the side plates and substantially diametrically oppo site each other are plates 67 which form one side of the diametrically opposed slots into which the coins fall from the chutes, the slots lying in planes parallel to the shaft 58. Arranged between the side plates and spaced apart transversely of the wheel so that a slot is formed between them are plates 68 and 69, which hold the coins inthe chutes until the coin wheel has rotated a sufiicient distance to bring the coin slot under the chute. The plates 68 and 69 extend circumferentially of the wheel within the perimeter thereof for substantially one-half a circumference, joining the plates on one end and being bent to lie substantially parallel with the diametrically opposed plate 67 on the other end. The bent portions 71 and the plates 67 form the coin slots into which the coins dis-charge from the chutes, the slots being closed at their inner ends by the hub. The plate 67 is provided with an indenture 72, so that a complete circumferential slot is formed. In the particular machine shown herein, each coin wheel is provided with two coin slots, but a lesser or a greater number of slotsmay be provided, depending upon the rate of rotation of the segregating cup with respect to that of the coin wheels, the number of coin carrying apertures in the cup and other features of construction. In the present construction, the coin wheels are fixed to the shaft 58, so that the coin slots in the various wheels are advanced angularly 60 with respect to each other, for reasons that will be explained hereafter, but this angular spacing may be varied in machines of different construction. The coin slots in the different wheels are spaced apart angularly, so that only one coin will be in engagement with the counting mechanism at one time, since in this machine one counter is employed for counting and totaling the value of all coins passing through, but'when separate counters are used for each coin, the spacing of the coin slots is not essential, nor is the number of slots in each wheel a particular consideration. The coin wheels rotate in the direction indicatedin Fig. 4, and as a coin emerges from the chute, it comes into contact with the plates 68-69 and is held partially in the chute by the plates until the rotation of the coin wheel brings the coin slot under the coin, when it falls into the slot and is then carried forward by the coin wheel. The plates 6869 curve gently into the bent portion 71, so that the coin slides into the slot. Arranged on the rear of each chute is a guard plate 73 which prevents the coin from becoming dislodged from the slot before it reaches the counting mechanism. The rate of rotation of the segregating cup and the number of coin carrying apertures or pockets therein is such that in the present construction, two coin carrying apertures pass over each segregating aperture for a complete revolution of the coin wheels. Therefore, if a plurality of coins of one denomination are placed in the segregating cup, they are conveyed to the coin wheel only as fast as the coin wheel can receive them, that is, not more than two coins of any one denomination can be fed to the respective coin wheel for each revolution of the coin wheel. This insures accuracy in counting the coins, whether one or more counters be used and prevents coins jamming in the chutes since there is never more than one coin at a time in any chute.

Arranged adjacent the coin wheels and preferably having their toothed portions lying between the plates 66 or extending into the circumferential slots, are the counteractuating means comprising the toothed wheels 7 5, 76 and 77, cooperating with coin wheels 55, 56 and 57 respectively. The counter actuating wheels are mounted on a shaft 78, parallel to shaft 58 and preferably arranged .adjacent the ends of the coin chutes. The toothed wheel 77 is secured to shaft 78 and toothed wheels 75 and 76 are secured to the sleeve 79, mounted on the shaft. The toothed wheels are preferably of different diameters, sothat they project for different distances into the coin wheels and are, therefore, in contact with the different coins through different distances and therefore rotate for different distances. The teeth on the wheels are engaged by the coins in the slots and the arc of engagement de termines the angular movement of the toothed wheels, the wheels being rotated by the coins carried in the slots of the coin wheels. Toothed wheels '75 and 76 which count the nickels and dimes are secured to the same sleeve and are so arranged that the presence of a dime in its coin wheel causes its counter actuating wheel to rotate through twice the angle caused by the presence of a nickel in its coin wheel.

Arranged within the apparatus and having its counting face visible on the exterior of the apparatus, is a counter 81 adapted to be actuated by the passage of a coin through any of the coin wheels and to be actuated to a different degree for each denomination of coin and to total the value of all coins counted. The unit of counting is preferably the value of the coin of lowest denomination counted, in the present instance the nickel, and the counter may record one or five for each nickel. In the event that the counter records one for each nickel, it will record two for each dime and five for each quarter.

The counter is provided with a driving gear 82 which meshes with a gear 83 preferably of the same diameter, secured to shaft 84;. Secured to shaft 8 1: is a ratchet wheel 85 engaged by a suitable spring latch, so that it moves with a step by step motion, one step for each unit of value recorded. Secured to shaft 8 1 is a gear 86 meshing with gear 87 secured to sleeve 7 9. Rotatably mounted on shaft 8 1 is a gear 88 having a clutch face spring pressed into engagement with a similar clutch face on gear 86. The gear 88 is in mesh with gear 89 secured to shaft 7 8 which gear 89 is also provided with a motion retarding ratchet 91. Gear 88 is smaller than gear 89 so that the motion of shaft 7 8 is multiplied when applied to shaft 84-. The clutch faces on gears 86 and 88 permit the sleeve 79 to rotate without rotating the shaft 78. The coins when in the coin wheels are in engagement with the counter wheels through an arc of less than 60 and the coins are separated in the coin wheels at least 60 so that one coin has completed its operation of the counter before the next coin comes into engagement with the counting mechanism, thereby insuring the proper counting of every coin passing through the apparatus. The coin wheels are prevented from moving in the wrong direction by a ratchet 92 secured to shaft 58 and engaged by a pawl pivoted to the frame.

The apparatus may be driven by hand, instead of by motor when desired or when the motor drive fails. A handle 93 may be attached to shaft 61 and the entire mechanism driven by rotating the handle. A clutch 9 1 on the main drive shaft 62 permits rotation of shaft 61 without rotating the motor. Means are provided for preventing the handle from being rotated at such high speed as to interfere with the proper segregation of the coins. Fixed to the frame and surrounding the shaft 61 is a ratchet 95 and secured to the shaft 61 is a plate 96 to which are pivoted two weighted spring pressed levers 97 having teeth 98 adapted to engage the ratchet. NVhen the shaft 61 and consequently the plate 96 are rotated at too high speed, the centrifugal force of the weighted ends of the levers causes them to move outwardly against the influence of the springs 99 and cause the teeth 98 to engage the ratchet and stop the shaft.

After the coins have been counted, they fall from the coin wheels onto the chute 102 and thence into the compartment 103 which is open to allow the coins to be taken there from for the purpose of making change or for deposit. Arranged in the casing below the opening of compartment 103 are a plurality of chutes 10% which lead into different compartments in drawer 3 and into which the excess coins and the large coins and bills received in making change are placed.

I claim:

1. In a coin segregator, an inspection table tiltable in either direction about a horizontal axis, segregating means arranged to receive coins from the table when tilted in one direction, a closed. compartment arranged to receive coins from the table when tilted in the other direction and means for normally preventing the table from being ister actuating means arranged in coopera- V tive relation with said coin wheels and arranged to be actuated by the movement of the coin wheels during the presence of coins therein.

3. In a coin segregator and counter, means for segregating coins of different denominations, driven coin wheels arranged to receive the coins from the segregating means and counter actuating means in cooperative rel ation with said coin wheels, said wheels being so arranged that only one counter actuating means is moved at one time.

t. In a coin segregator and counter, means for segregating coins of different denominations, a driven shaft arranged below and connected to said segregating means, coin wheels fixed in said shaft arranged to receive the segregated coins, a register, toothed wheels arranged ad acent said coin wheels and arranged to engage coins therein, and means connecting said toothed wheels and said register.

5. Tn a coin counter, a driven shaft, plurality of coin wheels having radial slots fixed on said shaft, a second shaft, and counter actuating means arranged on said second shaft and cooperating with said wheels, the

slots in said wheels being so arranged that only one counter actuating mechanism is operated at a time.

6. In a coin counter, a driven shaft. a plurality of coin wheels having radial slots arranged on said shafts. said slots being of different depths in different wheels, means for placing coins edgewisein said slots, plurality of concentric toothed wheels of different diameters cooperating with coin wheels and adapted to be engaged by coins in the slots of said wheels. a counter, and means connecting said toothed wheels with said counter.

7. In a coin segregator and counter, seg- In testirnony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Emeryville, California, this 21st day of September, 1916.

CLYDE O. VOGLESONG.

In presence of H. G. Pnosr. 

